Political Map of Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, Northern Africa and some other parts of the old world.
Source: Fragment of the Atlas of Canada's Reference Map Series - Natural Resources Canada.
Although it is the smallest continent in the world in terms of area (Australia is the word's largest island), Europe was the cultural heart and the greatest economic power of the world from the 15th century, when Portugal began to explore the oceans, until the end of the 19th century, when the United States became the greatest world power.
Portugal became the greatest world power in the first half of 16th century, when it defeated the Arabs and dominated trade in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. The Lusitanian Empire lost that position to Spain about 1570.
In
antiquity, Europe was also an economic and cultural power with the Greeks and
later with the Roman Empire, but there were also other powers in Asia and in
northern Africa.
